October 1, 2002
Ninth Log: Chihiro and Risa

Risa: Hi, Chihiro.

Chihiro: Hello, Risa.
Chihiro: Nice to hear from you.

Risa: Same here.
Risa: How did you manage the typhoons those last weeks?

Chihiro: Oh, we did alright, no real damage.
Chihiro: I actually like them a bit.

Risa: You do?

Chihiro: I feel that the nature is alive.
Chihiro: That we can't control everything.
Chihiro: That there are things more powerful than us.

Risa: I see.

Chihiro: I like to listen to the wind, and the rain.
Chihiro: I have to be alone for that, though.

Risa: What about Masaaki?

Chihiro: What about him?

Risa: You know…
Risa: Are you together now or not?

Chihiro: No, we're not together.
Chihiro: And I don't think we will be.

Risa: Why not?

Chihiro: We're just friends, very good friends.
Chihiro: We talked a lot during vacation, but we don't want anything else.
Chihiro: He's seldom here, anyway.

Risa: Oh.

Chihiro: And there are other things on my mind, as well.

Risa: Like?

Chihiro: Well, everything.
Chihiro: "Tama-chan" made me think.

(Translator Note: "Tama-chan" was a strayed seal that swam up the Tama River in August 2002 and became a national celebrity.)

Risa: You thought it was a sign from the bath house?

Chihiro: Nonsense, of course not.
Chihiro: You're being ridiculous.

Risa: Couldn't it be that a Seal-God wanted to tell you something?

Chihiro: Of course he did.
Chihiro: He told me how we treat our rivers, our environment.
Chihiro: That we kill our friends when we act carelessly.
Chihiro: That caring for a fellow creature is more important than praying to an invisible God.
Chihiro: But that doesn't have anything to do with my past.
Chihiro: Or only to the extent that I choose it to.

Risa: I get the point.
Risa: Tama-chan made me think about the environment too.

Chihiro: Well, a lot of people did.
Chihiro: And that's good.
Chihiro: But they forget so fast.

Risa: You think they do?

Chihiro: I went to the Super Yosakoi Festival,
Chihiro: And people there were just happy.
Chihiro: Like there weren't any problems in this world.

(Translator Note: On August 24 and 25 the Festival "Super Yosakoi 2002" was held in Harajuku, a district of Tokyo, and approximately 1 million people came to see the performances of 42 teams with 2,300 dancers from different parts of Japan.)

Risa: There's a time for everything.
Risa: Also a time to forget all troubles for a while.

Chihiro: I know, but I didn't really enjoy the festival all that much.

Risa: Why did you go there then?

Chihiro: Well, my mom wanted to go.
Chihiro: So we went together.

Risa: I guess we often do things we don't really want to do, just not to disappoint others.

Chihiro: Yeah, but,
Chihiro: You know, the Festival made me think about other things again.
Chihiro: So there's probably a reason even in doing things we don't want to do.
Chihiro: Things that we don't like change us more than things we like.

Risa: What did you think about?

Chihiro: I saw all these faces, everywhere, and I couldn't stop thinking that they are all totally different.
Chihiro: You know, normally when I see masses, I put them all in the same category, like a herd of sheep.

Risa: I like that picture.

Chihiro: But now behind every single face I saw an individual fate, one that I don't know.
Chihiro: I was thinking, what kind of dreams would he have?
Chihiro: How was she as a kid? Did she have friends?
Chihiro: Is he happy with his job? What are his views of the world?
Chihiro: When will they die?

Risa: That's weird.

Chihiro: And I thought that I will never know them, and they will never know me.
Chihiro: But I could learn from each single person by just listening to their opinions.
Chihiro: Even more if they have an own opinion.
Chihiro: But there are so many of them.

Risa: That's sure depressing.

Chihiro: Let's talk of something else.
Chihiro: You went to the mountains during the summer,
Chihiro: How was that?

Risa: We always go to the mountains, you know that.
Risa: Watching my dad fishing, watching my mom reading, watching the trees grow.
Risa: Always the same. Boring.
Risa: But you would have liked Lake Ashu.

(Translator Note: Lake Ashu is one of the three caldera lakes in Akan National Park in Hokkaido, North Japan)

Chihiro: Why do you think so?

Risa: It was so mystical.
Risa: Actually it's totally clear, you can watch the bottom 40 meters deep, sometimes.

(Translator Note: 41.6 meters (approximately 137 feet) transparency were measured in 1931.)

Risa: But when we were there, there was mist over the lake.
Risa: Almost creepy.
Risa: I was trying to spot a bath house,
Risa: Or see a dragon in the water…
Risa: As for you, you should be able to see something.

Chihiro: Ok now, please stop it!

Risa: Sorry. What?

Chihiro: Mentioning the Spirit World in every other sentence.
Chihiro: Even if it had been a lot of fun imagining that kind of stuff, but,
Chihiro: We're not little kids any more.
Chihiro: Like you said, there's a time for everything.
Chihiro: And right now we should either talk about Reality or the Spirit World.
Chihiro: I don't feel like mixing it up.

Risa: I'm sorry.
Risa: It's just, we used to talk a lot about it, and now we seldom talk at all.
Risa: There is nobody else I can talk to that way.

Chihiro: I'm sorry too, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.
Chihiro: I've learned to separate the worlds,
Chihiro: And telling Masaaki everything was quite a relieve.

Risa: When did you last see him?

Chihiro: During the summer, while he was here.
Chihiro: I haven't talked to him since.
Chihiro: When we are together, we talk a lot, and we both enjoy it.

Risa: Why didn't you call him, then?

Chihiro: There's no need to call him each week, just to say the same stuff over again.
Chihiro: It's like with you and me.
Chihiro: Even when we don't talk, we know we stay friends.

Risa: And he didn't call you?

Chihiro: Well, why?
Chihiro: He knows I have stuff to do, I know he works a lot, and we both know we won't forget each other.

Risa: You sound like, I don't know, my grandmother.
Risa: You shouldn't neglect him like that, if you like him.
Risa: Maybe he thinks of more, and is just too shy to call you.
Risa: I think you should call him.

Chihiro: I'll write to him, but it's not that way.
Chihiro: You know, it's like after telling him all, I got a big burden off my chest.
Chihiro: I never knew how anyone would react, whether anyone would be able to understand what I say.
Chihiro: Now I know.
Chihiro: I get along better with others in my class, too.

Risa: You do?
Risa: That's great.

Chihiro: There is this boy, I think you'd like him.
Chihiro: He plays baseball, left field, batting fourth.

Risa: Oh, I already like him.

(Note: in baseball the fourth batter is usually the strongest batter, in the so-called "clean up" position.)

Chihiro: Saturday we had a date.

Risa: Chihiro!
Risa: I really like the sound of that.
Risa: Tell me.

Chihiro: His name is Seishiro, and he looks good.
Chihiro: He's not so very popular, but he's smart.
Chihiro: His views are different from Masaaki's, but very interesting.
Chihiro: I think I can learn a lot from him.

Risa: What did you do on your date?

Chihiro: Nothing really, we just had lots of ice cream.
Chihiro: And we laughed a lot.

Risa: You laughed?
Risa: That's really nice, Chihiro, I'm happy for you.
Risa: Keep it up.

Chihiro: I will,
Chihiro: I stay in contact with him.

Risa: If you need any advice, you know who to ask.

Chihiro: Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

Risa: But now,
Risa: I'd like to ask you also about your dreams.
Risa: If you don't mind.

Chihiro: No of course not.
Chihiro: I've been meaning to tell you.

Risa: Well, how strong are they?

Chihiro: I think they are slowly fading, going away.
Chihiro: At least I don't feel anymore, that they want to tell me something.

Risa: Not even Haku?

Chihiro: Yes, his dreams have changed, too, lately.
Chihiro: Well, he's still sort of indicating he wants to see me, I should come to him.
Chihiro: But it's distant now.
Chihiro: And it's not anymore like he's going to leave there.
Chihiro: But it's not like he's at the bath house, either.

Risa: So maybe he's already left,
Risa: And he's here in this world.
Risa: We should look for him.

Chihiro: If you see him, give him my compliments, if you would be so kind.
Chihiro: Give him my address, or would he know how to use a phone or write email?

Risa: You tell me! I wouldn't know that!

Chihiro: I'm sorry, I also wish I'd meet him again.
Chihiro: But I've wished too long now, too hard.
Chihiro: I still have hope, but only deep inside my heart.

Risa: Isn't that the best place for hope?

Chihiro: I don't know, it's very deep.
Chihiro: I've never dared to reach that far,
Chihiro: What if I get stuck there?

Risa: Hm…
Risa: What about Rin?
Risa: Do you dream of her?

Chihiro: Yes, but that's different too.
Chihiro: Life at the bath house is very active, and very happy.

Risa: A lot of people are still thinking of them.
Risa: And I heard the movie started in America now?

Chihiro: Yes, but they aren't paying much attention to it.
Chihiro: Although it seems to have a few fans there, too.

Risa: It's weird to imagine how this story slowly covers the whole world.

Chihiro: Yeah.

Risa: Are you afraid, your dreams might leave you?

Chihiro: Not really.
Chihiro: Looking back it seems my dreams always reflected the situation I was in at that moment.
Chihiro: Even if they didn't help me directly, they reminded me of important things.
Chihiro: I'm confident that my dreams will be there when I need them.

Risa: And you'll always have the movie.

Chihiro: Yeah, you're right.
Chihiro: That's the "Sen" part of me.
Chihiro: But I feel the "Jin" much more right now.
Chihiro: It's time to explore new territory.

(Translator note: "Sen" + "Jin" = "Chihiro". "Sen" means "thousand" and "Jin" means "inquire", "fathom". Together they build the name "Chihiro", which can be translated as "great depth". See also note in part 9.)

Risa: Do you know what you want to do in spring yet?
Risa: After school?

Chihiro: I guess I just visit the High School here.
Chihiro: It's not the best one, but I don't want to specialize.
Chihiro: The language courses aren't bad there, I've heard.
Chihiro: What about you?

Risa: Well, I'd still like to become a restaurant owner.
Risa: But I don't think I'll have the money to ever start that.
Risa: So it'll maybe be something simple, like florist or beautician.

Chihiro: I'd buy your flowers, or eat at your place.

Risa: You can bring your friend along.
Risa: What was his name?

Chihiro: Seishiro.
Chihiro: Yeah, but only if it's a restaurant.
Chihiro: I don't think he'd care for a beauty shop.

Risa: You two have fun together.

Chihiro: Oh, it's nothing serious yet.
Chihiro: But who knows?

Risa: That's the Chihiro I like.
Risa: I hope I'll meet him some day.

Chihiro: Well, that'd be nice.
Chihiro: But who knows what will happen?
Chihiro: I don't try to see the big picture any more.

Risa: Taking one step at a time, right?
Risa: Following your own advice at last?

Chihiro: If you say it.

Risa: Keep it up, and stay in touch.

Chihiro: I will.
Chihiro: See ya.

Risa: Yeah, bye.